More Questions Than Answers
by Girl in a White Dress
Summary: A collection of miscellaneous drabbles. Most are GibbsKate, but you'll find the rest of the cast here too.
1. excuses

Title: Excuses  
Rating: PG  
Summary: He wishes he didn't need an excuse to kiss her.  
Pairing: Gibbs/Kate  
A/N: Response to _Christmas traditions_ at ncischallenge100.

* * *

Gibbs isn't quite sure how he got roped into attending the office Christmas party. It's the first time since joining NCIS that he has, and he suspects it has a lot to do with a certain member of his team. 

Said team member is currently approaching him. Gibbs leans against the doorjamb and smiles.

"Kate."

"Gibbs." She hands him a glass of eggnog. "What made you change your mind?"

"Someone has to make sure no one destroys the building."

She laughs, and Gibbs wishes he hadn't taken the mistletoe down.

He wishes he didn't need an excuse to kiss her.


	2. soft toy

Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Not my characters.  
Challenge: soft toy  
Characters: Gibbs/Kate

* * *

Crime scenes involving children are always the worst, Gibbs thinks. In this case, the suspect is the child's mother, a Marine Lieutenant Colonel. Gibbs isn't getting anywhere with questioning and stands, wondering where Kate's got to.

He finds her in the kid's bedroom, a soft toy in her gloved hands.

"Kate?"

She turns around, guiltily dropping the toy. "Yes?"

"Is everything okay?"

She starts to nod, then gives a half-smile. "I had a bunny like this when I was a kid."

Gibbs says nothing, but puts his hand on her shoulder and gives a light squeeze. "Let's get to work."


	3. date

Title: Date  
Disclaimer: Not my characters.  
For Nancy.

"So, you're a special agent?" The blonde leans across the table, affording Tony a glimpse of her cleavage. "Do you carry a gun?"

He nods. Lily's pretty, but not too bright, and her appeal is quickly wearing off.

"Do you have it here?"

"No."

Lily shrugs, flicks her hair and smiles. "Is it true what they say about G-men?"

"What do they say?"

She twirls a lock of hair around a finger, tilts her head.

His cell phone rings. Gibbs.

He smiles apologetically. "I have to go, Lily, I'm sorry. I'll call you."

She frowns. "It's Lisa, not Lily."

Oops.


	4. not okay

Title: Not Okay  
Disclaimer: Not my characters.  
Spoilers: Bete Noir  
For ncisdrabble challenge #3 _angst_.

Kate sits on the edge of her bed, trying desperately not to think about the events of that afternoon.

How cold it was in the freezer.

How sick she'd felt seeing Gerald's injury.

The terror that filled her when she heard the shot and thought Gibbs was dead.

Kate hugs herself, trying to stop the shaking. She remembers Ari grabbing her, holding her close, and knowing he found her attractive.

She's holding the phone but can't recall picking it up. With trembling fingers, she dials.

"Gibbs."

She hangs up.

The phone rings. Gibbs.

"Katie, are you okay?"

No, she thinks.


	5. when i grow up

Title: When I Grow Up  
Disclaimer: Not my characters.  
For ncisdrabble challenge #4 _conversation with a sibling_.

"When I grow up," six-year-old Kate said, "I'm going to be the president."

Her eight-year-old sister burst out laughing. "You can't be the president. You're a girl."

"Momma says I can be anything I want." Kate put her hands on her hips. "And you're nothing but a big old meanie, Meghan Todd."

Meg mirrored Kate's stance. "Well, I'm going to be a princess."

"That's boring." Kate looked around their shared bedroom, her eyes falling on the rocking horse in the corner. "I'll be a cowboy. And then I can have a gun."

Meg pulled a face. "I'm telling Mom."

"Meanie!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Doesn't it freak you out?"

"What?" Kate glances up from the report she's reading; Abby is perched on the edge of her desk.

"Gibbs' staring."

"What's he staring at?" Kate glances in Gibbs' direction.

"You!" Abby grins. "Well?"

Kate shakes her head. "He's not staring at me, Abby."

"He is too, Kate. I've been watching. And it's not just today, you know."

Kate smiles. "I think you've been drinking too much Caff-Pow."

"Whatever." Abby hops off the desk. "But just so you know, there is no rule number twelve. He totally made that up."

Kate looks at Gibbs again. He's still looking at her.


	7. Chapter 7

There's a single red rose on her desk when she arrives at work.

"Looks like you've got an admirer," Tony comments.

Kate raises the flower to her face; the petals are soft, the scent rich.

She smells coffee, and opens her eyes. Gibbs is holding out a cup to her, looking altogether too pleased with himself.

"Secret admirer?" he echoes Tony.

Kate smiles and her fingers brush his as she takes the coffee. "Maybe not so secret."

Gibbs' expression turns serious for a moment. "No, maybe not."

"I've never really liked secrets."

"Good to know." Gibbs smiles again, then moves to his desk.


	8. Chapter 8

"I look like a whale," she moans.

"No, you don't. You're beautiful."

She glares at him. "This is all your fault, Jethro Gibbs. I'm never letting you touch me again."

"Never?"

She considers that for a moment, then says, "You can touch me. But no more sex."

"You don't mean that, Katie." He kisses her neck.

"I do."

He continues kissing her, and she finds her resolve weakening. Then he stops, and steps away from her. "Well, if your mind's made up."

Another glare. "You're a bastard, Gibbs."

He grins.

"I swear, if this child takes after you . . ."


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs doesn't need to look up to notice Kate's arrival; he can smell her perfume, hear her low chuckle as she greets Abby.

And then there's Tony's loud whistle of appreciation. Gibbs resists the urge to throw something at him, mostly because by now Gibbs has actually looked up and seen Kate.

Beautiful. As always.

"Looking good," Tony says. "Is that new?"

There should be a rule against that shirt, Gibbs thinks. He'll have to make one up.

Of course, this is one more thing making him reconsider rule twelve.

He smiles; maybe it's time to break some rules instead.


	10. Chapter 10

He dreams of her death so often that he's afraid of going to sleep. Bourbon helps, but it's not always enough to keep the nightmares away.

Sometimes it's a bullet to her head.

Sometimes there's an explosion.

Sometimes she dies in his arms.

And sometimes Ari takes her. Gibbs hears his voice taunting: _Say goodbye to Caitlin, Agent Gibbs._

So every morning Gibbs waits for her to walk into the bullpen, and if he's gruff with her it's not because he's grumpy; he's just so damn relieved she's still alive.

Maybe one of these days he'll even tell her that.


	11. Chapter 11

Gibbs slid onto the stool and ordered a bourbon from the bartender. A waste of a day, he thought. He could have been working on any one of their open cases, but instead he was stuck in Atlanta for a criminal behaviour conference.

Kate would have enjoyed this.

The thought came unbidden, and he took a sip of his drink as if that could wash the pain away.

"Scotch," a man said, taking the seat beside Gibbs. He glanced at the man, and it was a few seconds before he could place him. Horatio Caine, from Miami. Also attending the conference.

Also looking like he had better places to be.

He noticed the flash of gold on Caine's finger, and hid his smile.

(He thought of Kate again, and understood that there would never be enough alcohol to forget.)


	12. Chapter 12

Jarod's current Pretend had him as an NCIS officer from San Diego whose transfer papers were lost in a backlog of information. by the time Gibbs' team realized he wasn't who he said he was, the case would be solved and he would be gone.

Right now he was sitting in the lab with Abby, debating about the best way to hack into classified government files.

Abby leaned back in her chair, then turned to look at him. "No way! How'd you know that would work?"

"Lucky guess." He shrugged.

Abby grinned. "You're cool, J." She handed him the cup she'd been drinking from. "Try some of this."

"What is it?"

"Caff-Pow."

Later that night, he would regret trying the drink. Caff-Pow did not help his insomnia one bit.


	13. Chapter 13

"You're kidding, right?" Silence, and then she frowns. "You're serious?"

Gibbs smiles.

"No. No. You are not making me go undercover as Tony's wife."

"Hey!" Tony protests. "What's wrong with being my wife?"

A quick glance in his direction, accompanied by a glare, and Tony lapses into silence.

"Do you have a problem with the assignment?" Gibbs asks.

"It's that obvious?"

"What, would you rather go undercover with me, then?"

"Ye-" Shit.

More silence.

"Well, this is awkward," Tony says. "I'll, uh, oh, hey, Abby, wait up!" He scuttles off.

"Kate."

"Gibbs?"

"Would you like to finish your sentence?"

"No."

He smirks.

She sinks into her chair. "I hate you, you know that?"


	14. Chapter 14

She sits at the picnic table, silent, processing everything that's happened today. Ari's not the bad guy, she's still alive.

She doesn't even realize Gibbs has arrived on the scene until he's right in front of her. She looks up at him, sees her own confusion and frustration mirrored in his expression – because, after all, only a few months ago Ari shot Gerald, locked her in a freezer and taunted Gibbs into shooting him.

"You okay?" Gibbs asks.

"Yeah."

Silence. And then he sits on the bench next to her, puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close.


	15. Chapter 15

"Look at me," he says, but she cannot. Not because she is afraid of what she will see, but because if she looks at him she knows she will be lost.

He moves closer, invading her personal space once more. "Katie."

She almost gives in. His voice is low, rough, dangerous. She wants to give in."

She backs against the wall, reaching blindly for the button that will set the elevator in motion. He grabs her wrist, and now she does look at him.

"Kate."

This time she is the one who initiates the kiss.

And she is lost.


	16. Chapter 16

She tells herself she's being ridiculous, and sits down to make a list of all the reasons why falling in love with Jethro Gibbs is the worst possible idea in the world. He's grumpy, a self-confessed bastard, he's her boss, she's not even his type, he's too old for her, he'll try to poison her with what he calls coffee, he's been married (and divorced) three times—

But sometimes when he looks at her, it's hard to convince herself that this is a bad idea, and the way he looks at her makes her wonder if he's got his own list about her.


	17. Chapter 17

He stares at her empty desk and it hits him, suddenly, sharply, that she's never again going to look up and tease him, never again going to laugh or smile. He glances at Gibbs' desk and wonders how he's feeling. Tony got over his own crush on Kate a long time ago; she was a friend, a sister to him. But Gibbs – there was always something more between them. Tony had seen it even on Air Force One.

Gibbs and Kate were supposed to realize they were in love, and get married and have children and live happily ever after. They deserved that; _Kate_ deserved that.

There's no time for should-have-been's. They have a killer to catch.


	18. Chapter 18

For Dani and the prompt: Gibbs/Kate and bar.

* * *

He watches her at the bar, shoulders slumped, downing shot after shot, and wonders when she'll learn that there's never enough alcohol to forget. It might dull the pain for a while, but she's going to remember tomorrow.

He doesn't want to think about why he can't bear the thought of her in pain.

When he reaches her side, she glances sideways at him, then reaches for another glass.

"No, Kate, that's enough."

"You're not my father." Her words are surprisingly clear.

"But I'm your friend."

She looks at him again, then smiles slightly, and lets him help her up.


	19. Chapter 19

_Wear my love like heaven_. (Sarah MacLachlan: Wear your love like Heaven)

Kate's first love was a black Labrador called Buster. She was six years old, he was a puppy and it was love at first sight for both of them. When she was ten he was hit by a car, and Kate cried herself to sleep for weeks.

When she was fifteen she met Rob Evans and he kissed her under the elm tree in her backyard. The following week he kissed her best friend, and Kate punched him in front of the football team. She didn't mean to break his nose.

She's been in love a couple of times since then, but it's different now. She's never really thought about soulmates or people being destined for each other, but when she's in Gibbs' arms she smiles up at him and thinks, _yes_.

* * *

_I'm going under/Drowning in you/I'm falling for hours/I've got to break through/I'm going under_. (Evanescence: Going Under)

"You're staring again," Abby says, sotto voce. Gibbs tears his gaze from Kate and glares at her. Abby, however, is unaffected. She leans closer to Gibbs and whispers, "Why don't you just ask her out already?"

"Abigail—" His tone carries a warning, which Abby unsurprisingly ignores.

"'Cause this whole staring thing you've got going is kinda creepy. Stalker-like, you know? Girls don't like that."

"Do you really want to have this conversation with me?"

Abby grins. "Sometimes, when you're not looking, she stares at you too."

He looks so taken aback that she winks, pats his shoulder, and heads for the elevator.

* * *

_I finally have your attention/so listen closer, sweetheart/I've been trying to tell you_. (Lydia: Your Taste Is My Attention)

"Kate! Get down!"

She barely has time to react when he tackles her. They fall roughly to the floor just seconds before all hell breaks loose. Kate's out of breath from the force of the impact and as she looks up into Gibbs' concerned face, she forgets for a moment that they're in the middle of a warehouse with people shooting at them.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah." Her blood is racing and she's not sure if it's from the adrenalin or Gibbs' body on top of hers, or the way his fingers are lightly – so lightly – tracing her cheek.

"Boss? Kate? You guys okay?"

Just like that, the spell is broken. Kate realizes the gunfire has stopped and Tony's looking down at them in confusion.

But Gibbs' grip lingers a moment too long after he helps her to her feet, and she smiles.


	20. Chapter 20

_For Natalie who asked for Gibbs/Kate and 'unseen'._

. . .

Lately, Gibbs has been experiencing the strangest sensation of being watched.

He knows that he is alone in the basement; he has checked every inch of the room for surveillance equipment, has installed a brand new security system and habitually checks the house whenever he comes home.

But the feeling persists and tonight, as he works on his boat, he detects the faintest scent of perfume in the air. It's been years, but he recognizes it instantly.

Impossible, he thinks. Kate is nothing but a memory now, and Gibbs doesn't believe in ghosts.

No matter how much he wants to.


	21. Chapter 21

_For Sharley._

Gibbs, surprisingly, is the first person to visit in the hospital. Ziva is too exhausted to comment as she watches him through half-shut eyes. He's at the window, his profile dark against the light.

He looks good with a baby in his arms, she thinks.

"Hi, Hannah," he says, his voice low. There's an unfamiliar softness in his tone and Ziva feels her heart melt. "When you're old enough to worry about boys, you come to your Uncle Jethro for advice. Not Uncle Tony, okay?"

Hannah gurgles in reply, and Ziva drifts to sleep with a smile on her face.


End file.
